We entirely agree with the Bishop's judgment as to the Conference and the Papers; while we still adhere to the opinion expressed in our August number, that the plan of publishing the addresses without any report of the discussions on them, must necessarily give an inadequate and onesided idea of the mind of the meeting. In the same article we incidentally gave an abstract of the contents of the present volume, which need not be repeated here.

The Church Porch, by George Herbert; with Notes; and a Selection of Latin Hymns for the Sunday use in Upper Forms. Edited by EDWARD C. LowE, D.D., Head Master of S. John's School, Hurstpierpoint. (Oxford and London: Jas. Parker and Co. Brighton G. Wakeling.

1867.)

THIS is an excellent idea excellently well carried out. The history of the volume is pathetically stated in the dedication:

"To the holy memory of John Keble and John Branthwaite, this attempt first made in concert with them, to illustrate an author dear to both, is now dedicated in grateful recollection of their approval, and in sad consciousness of the loss which their departure has seemed to bring to this, as well as to many nobler efforts for good."

The notes, we are told in the preface, "have been compiled to facilitate the adoption of the book in upper Sunday classes in schools." They are admirably adapted for this purpose, as also is the choice of the particular text-book; for the Church Porch, it is truly added, "if well learned in youth, ought to prove a valuable treasury of precept in manhood. The plainness of its morality, which forcibly insists on direct positive duties, and on a sober common-sense regard to the facts of human nature and the claims of society, and the higher spiritual relations between man and GOD, which are not less distinctly and uniformly recognized as the basis and end of action, combine to render it a manual, likely to prove useful in correcting or anticipating some of the more serious social and intellectual errors of our time.”

The Latin Hymns, which are taken chiefly from the Breviary, are most of them already familiar to the English reader in their translations. They may well be learned by heart in their originals by English school-boys, who would so find a further interesting variety in their Sunday lessons. As George Herbert has himself epigrammatically put it

"A verse may find him who a sermon flies,
And turn delight into a sacrifice."

Eben-Ezer; or, the Stone of Help. A plain Address before reading the Lambeth Pastoral at S. Cyprian's, Marylebone, on the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, S. Faith, Virgin and Martyr, Oct. 6, 1867. Revised and Enlarged. Masters, 1867.

THIS little Pastoral is one of the earnest and spirited addresses which sometimes issue from the pen of the large-hearted Mission-Priest of S.

Cyprian's, when some urgent question of faith, or some passing event or pending measure affecting Christian morals, seems to suggest a fitting occasion. The present tract goes fully into the proceedings of the PanAnglican Synod, so far as they related to the South African Church, and unsparingly exposes and denounces the heresies of the deposed Bishop Colenso, and explains the effect of his excommunication. It warmly advocates the appeal which has been made by the Bishop of Capetown for the support of the new Catholic Bishop of Natal; an object, it will be remembered, which Mr. Gutch also very practically advanced by the boldness of his advocacy at the S. P. G. soirée of Bishops in S. James's Hall.

1. Footprints in the Snow. By the late Rev. EDWARD MONRO. Masters. 1867.

2. Tales for the Million. By the Rev. E. MONRO. Masters. 1859. "FOOTPRINTS in the Snow,"-a tale of the emulation stirred up in the hearts of the young men in a Swiss valley at the foot of Mount Rosa by the recital of the daring deeds of those who had bravely faced the worst dangers of the terrible mountain, and had left their "footprints in the snow" for others to follow in,-cannot be read without many a thought of its gifted writer in whose strongly marked footsteps many have already followed, and many more we hope will yet tread in them. Mr. Monro was always especially distinguished for his singular power of reaching the boy-mind. This posthumous tale is not in this respect unworthy of its predecessors. The Alpine scenery in which the story is laid allows also free play to the poetical fancy and descriptive skill for which the lamented author was remarkable. There is a melancholy propriety in the concluding words of the little tale.

"And on some other day, or rather, when days are numbered no more, they will meet; Claude, his dear pastor and friend. But we will not anticipate that day. Those who do meet there will have no longer to trace in memory the footprints of Him Who first trod upon the way of sorrows, Who has bidden His own to follow Him; and having once gained them, and folded them amongst His own redeemed flock, will bid them forget for ever the footprints on the path of time, and only to remember through everlasting ages the power through grace which has overcome, and the Lamb Who by His precious Blood has redeemed them to be His own for ever and ever."

"Tales for the Million" have always been great favourites, and need no special commendation on our part.

Selection of Psalms in Verse; Poems and Translations. Part I. By ICHABOD CHARLES WRIGHT, M.A., late Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. Part II. By HENRY SMITH WRIGHT, B.A., Late Scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge. Bell and Daldy. 1867.

AFTER Mr. Wright's successful translation of the Iliad, though in the midst of so many formidable rivals, we confess to be somewhat disappointed with his present performance on the sacred lyre. He is not

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the first by many, but one in a long list including the most illustrious names, who have failed in the attempt at versification of the Psalms. We need not say that the present renderings are scholarlike and elegant, but they fail, as others have failed, in adding any touch of poetical beauty, or expression of deeper feeling to the inspired musings of the Psalmist. The author, in our judgment, is evidently more at ease when dealing with some classical or martial subject. The same may be said of the junior contributor to the volume, who comes before the public, so far as we are aware, for the first time, as candidate for the laurel chaplet, under the favourable auspices of his father's prestige. His verses, original and translated, bespeak for themselves great promise of future success. There are some very spirited stanzas, on "The Death of Havelock," "The Battle of Alma," and "The Old Charger." The longest and the most highly finished poem is on "The Death of the Prince Consort." We quote a few lines from the latter as a specimen.

"And thou, dear Lady, let not too deep grief

O'erwhelm thy soul. Thou hast thy children still;
Thou hast thy people, and thy people's love.
They ever loved thee, but will love thee now
Even more fondly, if aught more fond may be,

Than when was fondest. Then thou wast their Queen,
Their best and noblest Queen; but then thy heart,
They knew, was twined about a husband's heart;
They knew thy every care was felt by him;

And, reft of him, they knew how thou must grieve,
And so they grieve, and so they love thee more.
And with our love to thee, our love for him

Is fondly mingled. Never shall thy name
Be heard, but his name shall be softly breathed
In the same voice, or in our thoughts shall rise
Blended as sweetly, as was his life with thine."

The poems of both father and son are distinguished by a marked touch of personal religion, though savouring of the Evangelical school.

Tracts for the Day; No. 6, Casuistry, (Longman, Green, and Co., 1867,) is, we think, the ablest and most useful of this able and useful series that has yet appeared; as dealing with an hitherto almost untouched subject in popular Anglican theology. The author is evidently entire master of his subject, and seems almost to revel in the pleasure of traversing untrodden ground. He seems to say

"Nec me animi fallit, quam sint obscura; sed acri
Percussit thyrso laudis spes magna meum cor, &c.

*

*

*

*

Primum, quod magnis doceo de rebus, et artis
Religionum animum nodis exsolvere pergo:

*

Deinde, quod obscura de re tam lucida pango."

Now spiritual direction is coming more and more into common practice among us in connection with sacramental confession, and doubtful questions, of apparently conflicting duties are continually arising,

Casuistry must once more resume its proper place in our system. Its history and rationale are fully treated in this short tractate; and so fully impressed are we with the exceeding importance of the subject, that we shall probably revert to it at length ere long. It is unnecessary therefore to say more at present.

No. 7. of the same series, Unction of the Sick, is elsewhere referred to in our present number. An appendix to this tract, under the same title, is published by Messrs. Masters, and contains the Sarum use for the administration of this Sacrament. The tract itself contains, 1. Its history; 2. Its theology; 3. Its use; 4. The theory of its present position; and 5. The prospect of its practical restoration in the Church of England. Probably, the difficulty of obtaining the supposed necessary matter, episcopally consecrated oil, owing to the paucity of our Bishops, was the cause of its unauthorized abeyance amongst us. There seems no sufficient cause now to prevent the general revival of such a plainly Scriptural and Catholic ordinance.

The Future Communion Service of the Church of England, as restored from the Primitive Apostolic Liturgies of Catholic Antiquity, (Masters, 1867,) points out that "all the Liturgies of the various branches of the Church Catholic before the sixth century, however differing in minor particulars, agree in the four following fundamental usages: 1. The use of the Kerasma, or mixture of wine and water in the holy chalice; 2. The oblation or offering up of the consecrated elements to GOD the FATHER; 3. The Invocation for the Descent and Presence of the HOLY SPIRIT to make such elements the Body and Blood of the CHRIST or Messiah; 4. The Prayer for All Saints, the departed as well as the living. And these usages were retained in the First Prayer Book of King Edward VI., A.D. 1548, of which Parliament declared,' that it was done by the aid of the HOLY GHOST,' and the King and Privy Council, that the Holy Communion therein was brought to the very use as CHRIST left it, as the Apostles used it, and as the holy Fathers delivered it.'"

It is almost too late to notice now A Plain Address to the Communicants and Inhabitants of S.Cyprian's, Marylebone, 1867, (Masters,) preparatory to the dedication festival, except to express our thankfulness that this excellent missionary work is gradually making progress, and to invite the attention and sympathy of our readers to it.

A volume of (not very) Short Sermons, by G, F. PRESCOTT, M.A., Incumbent of SS. Michael and All Angels, Paddington, (J. and C. Mozley, 1867,) is above the average in literary merit, but of somewhat hesitating catholic theology. Two extracts from Sermons on the delicate subjects of the "Eucharist " and "Confession" will give the full measure of the author's standard.

"But in what sense really present? Our senses tell us that even after the Prayer of Consecration the bread is still bread, the wine still wine. And when the LORD said, 'This is My Body,-is My Blood,' His actual flesh was still living and unbroken; so that He could not have used the words in a literal sense. Therefore, the real Presence of CHRIST at (sic) the LORD's Supper is a spiritual one, invisible to the senses. Hence, none but the faithful can be partakers of Him, none but those enabled by the grace of God to feel His

real Presence, and take Him into their souls, to 'feed upon Him in their hearts by faith with thanksgiving.'

"The Church of England is moderate and careful in this (Confession) as in other doctrines. She enjoins her members, if they be troubled in mind, to have recourse to a godly minister for advice and comfort, and to receive the benefit of absolution; and the priest has no option but to declare forgiveness to him who consults him as a true heart-broken penitent; and great will be the consolation which may be so derived. But it is wisely enjoined (where?) not as a constant and necessary act of duty, but as a medicine for special cases of spiritual distress."

We deeply regret to observe that Dr. Lowe, of Hurstpierpoint, is reported to have endorsed at the Stafford Meeting on behalf of the Middle-Class Schools, this very inadequate and unsatisfactory theory of the Anglican system of Confession.

Mr. LIDDELL, of S. Paul's, Knightsbridge, has added four more to his late able and timely sermons on urgent subjects of the day, under the title of The Christian Priesthood, Altar, and Sacrifice. (Hayes, Lyall Place.) We are glad also to repeat a paragraph, which has been going the round of the Church newspapers, to the effect that "considerable alterations are about to be effected" in the services of S. Paul's, including "the removal of the organ to the east end of the north aisle, the introduction of Gregorian music, and a higher type of ritual than has been recently practised." This is only in strict consistency with the above-mentioned excellent sermons.

Mr. BURGON'S Short Sermons for Family Reading; Second Series, Parts XII., XIII. September and October, (J. Parker and Co.) are as good, though we must honestly add, as uneven in finish, as usual.

Of single sermons, we have received The Quieting of the Church; preached in Westminster Abbey, on September 29, the Sunday after the Lambeth Conference, by CH. WORDSWORTH, D.D., &c. (Rivingtons) The Ministerial Mission; preached in Salisbury Cathedral, by CHAS. B. PEARSON, M.A., (Bell and Daldy :) and The Analogy of Intellectual Progress to Religious Growth; preached in the Episcopal Church of S. Paul, on occasion of the Meeting of the British Association at Dundee, by C. PRICHARD, M.A., &c., (Bell and Daldy :) all above par in literary ability, but not calling for any special remark.

An Essay on the Eternity of Future Suffering; showing its Probability, Justice, and Necessity, by the Rev. C. HOPE ROBERTSON, M.A., Incumbent of Crocken Hill, Kent, (J. Parker and Co.) is a thoughtful and in a few pages exhaustive treatise on this painful subject; sound too in Anglican and Catholic teaching in the matter.

The Life of our Blessed Saviour; An Epitome of the Gospel Narrative, &c., by the Rev. I. GREGORY SMITH, M.A., &c., (Rivingtons,) is a useful harmony, chiefly following the arrangement of Bishop Ellicott. It has reached a second edition.

A second edition of Dr. NEALE's beautiful Hymns, chiefly Mediaval, on the Joys and Glories of Paradise, is published by Hayes, of Lyall Place, Eaton Square.